Moving On
by nachtbringer
Summary: Zack visits Cloud in a dream and tries to help him cope with his death. Post Advent Children, Oneshot, Clack, rather angsty, but with a happy ending. Rated T for a bit of swearing.


Woo! Ok, so. Last night I had a RPBA, or a Random Plot Bunny Attack. Thus, my first fanfiction in almost a year (dramatic pause) was born.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and it's characters belong to Squeenix, not me. If I owned them...Never mind :3

Cloud knelt down on the ground, staring at a patch of small yellow flowers. The flowers were the only thing that bore color in the barren wasteland around him. They were also the closest thing to a grave his best friend had. Zack. Zack Fair. The only person he had ever considered a real, true friend. Sure, he had Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, Barret...Ok, so he had a lot of friends. But Zack...Zack was different. Because in truth, Zack hadn't been just a friend. He had been so much more than that. Zack had saved his life, he had stuck with him through thick and thin, and had been an overall amazing person. But Zack had also been a lover. They had loved each other with a love unlike any other. It was like they completed each other.

But then, on that fateful day in Midgar, Zack had been taken from him. And Cloud had been destroyed. Ever since then, he hadn't loved anyone. Not as a friend, or a lover. Sometimes he wondered why. And now, gazing at the tiny blossoms, he realized why. He was afraid. Afraid of getting close to someone again, only to have them ripped away, taking a piece of his heart with them. A tear silently rolled down his face as he turned his head to the sky. "Zack..." He whispered. "Come back..." He allowed himself to cry, for the first time in what felt like an eternity. And at last, he cried himself to sleep on the dry ground beneath him.

"Cloud...Cloud...Wake up..." A soft voice whispered. Cloud's bright blue eyes fluttered open at the sound of the silky voice calling his name. He sat up and looked around, but he was no longer in the desert. He was laying among the brightly colored flowers in the garden of the church, only...Everything was covered in a thin layer of mist, even though it was a warm, dry day. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and found himself face-to-face with Zack Fair. "Z-Zack..." He managed to choke out, as he slowly raised his hand to stroke the other man's cheek. Zack smiled. "I heard you call for me...So I thought I'd pay you a visit." The raven haired man said with the faintest of smirks. Cloud could only nod, so great was his happiness and shock. "But...You...You're..." He stuttered. "Dead? Yes, I noticed." Zack replied. "But thanks to Aerith, I was able to come see you in your dreams for a brief period." That explained why they were in the church, then.

"Cloud...You have to stop beating yourself up. You can't go on living like this." Cloud's eyes shifted to the ground. "But Zack...I..." "Shh. I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that you let me die, that it's your fault. But it isn't. What's done is done, Cloud. And it wasn't your doing." Cloud sighed. No matter what anyone said, at the end of the day he still felt that he could've done something, anything, to prevent Zack's death. "Zack...I don't know how I can go on without you. I just...can't." Cloud said, his voice trembling. Zack's eyes softened. "Yes you can, Cloud. Because it isn't worth throwing away your life for one that's already over." Cloud snapped. "Yes I can, and I will, damn it! I can't DO this! I'm not some sort of superhuman being with immunization to pain! I can't just keep living with all this shit going on in my head!" "Yes you can, and you will! Because I know you! And the Cloud I know wouldn't be that stupid!" Zack snapped back. Cloud's tears were falling freely now. "The Cloud you knew is gone, Zack! Because you took him away and you aren't coming back, so neither is he!" Zack's eyes flashed with anger. "You were fine before we met, and you can become that way again if you would just stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong and just fucking forget me!"

Zack immediately wished he'd worded that a little better, because Cloud's face went from tearful to enraged. "FORGET you? You're telling me to just go on and act like I never had a lover, like you never even existed! Damn it, Zack, I'd rather die!" Cloud began wildy swinging his fists at the man he loved, as tears blurred his vision. Zack caught his hands and held them, staring into Cloud's face until the blond finally calmed down and fell to his knees, sobbing. Zack lifted him back up and held him close, letting Cloud cry against him. After Cloud's wailing finally subsided, Zack tilted Cloud's chin up and kissed him softly, running his hand along Cloud's face. When they finally broke apart, Cloud's face had teared up again. "I'd forgotten how good of a kisser you are." He said with a small chuckle and a watery smile. Zack smiled gently. "If only we had more time..." He said, his smile faltering a bit. "Time?" Cloud repeated. "Yeah. I can't just stay here forever, you know. I have a certain amount of time to be here." "Oh..." Cloud said sadly. "But...I'll come see you again in your dreams...I promise." Zack said, kissing Cloud's hand. "And Cloud...Promise me something. Promise me that you won't do anything I wouldn't want you to do. And promise me that you'll try to find love again. I've known you long enough to know that you're happiness is greatest when you have someone to share it with." Cloud hesitated, then nodded slowly. Zack smiled. And then, he faded away into the soft mist.

Cloud awoke with a start. Had it really been only a dream? He wondered, as he shook the dust from his hair. Suddenly, he noticed a large wolf standing a few feet away, looking at him. The two locked eyes. Neither moved. Then, (was he seeing things?) the wolf gave a small smile before loping away. He stared after it, wondering why the wolf's crystal blue eyes had looked so familiar...

The next day when Cloud walked into Tifa's bar, he felt strangely happy. Happier than he'd felt in a long time. And when he looked at Tifa, he felt something warm inside...Something he hadn't felt since the first time he'd saw Zack. He remembered his promise, and walked over to where she stood cleaning the counter with a rag. "Hey...Tifa." She looked up from her cleaning, her eyes questioning. "Um...This Saturday...You wanna maybe take Denzel and Marlene and go to the Gold Saucer?" Tifa's eyes widened a bit. "Seriously?" She asked, almost sounding confused. He gulped and nodded. Slowly her expression turned to a smile. "Yeah. Sounds fun." He suddenly heard the patter of small feet and then felt his legs being squeezed tightly. He looked down and saw Marlene, looking at him as if he was Santa Claus himself as she hugged him as hard as she could. "Really! We're going to the Gold Saucer! I've always wanted to go there!" She squealed gleefully. Denzel, coming out of the room he shared with Marlene, had heard her excited squeal, and was grinning from ear to ear. Cloud felt himself smile. This was his family. And maybe, just maybe, they were the key to moving on.

If there were any plot mistakes or other errors, forgive meh. I've only seen the Advent Children Movie and I only know the barest outline of the FF7 game. Either way, R&R Please!


End file.
